I haven't come across "to device", but I'd normally expect "to leave" or "to bequeath" (in a will), but "to donate" would be okay as well, just less usual (though "donate" might suggest someone had already said a possession would be given to so-and-so when the owner died). English can be used in a wonderfully imprecise way and still be comprehensible (to be completely incomprehensibe we use very precise English of course )

I believe the word Don Enrico meant to use "devise" which is the act of disposing of property, especially real property, by will. Interesting how slowly these stories make their way around the world. This particular email only landed in my inbox today - a year after your comments and 5 years after his death!

The interesting aspect for me about this story - apart from his long ownership of the Rolls - is that he died the month after he struck the deal with the museum and handed over the $1,000,000 for the purchase of the building. It's as though, now that his beloved car was going to its final resting place, he went to his!